586 lines
32 KiB
Plaintext
586 lines
32 KiB
Plaintext
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+--------------------------------------+------------------------+
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| &&&& && && &&&&& &&&&&& &&&&& | COWGIRLS GET THE BLUES |
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|&&&&&& && && &&&&&& &&&&&& &&&&&& | CHOCOLATE |
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|&& && && && && && && && && | ABSOLUTE BEGINNERS |
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| && && && && && && && && | CHOCOLATE |
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| && && && &&&&&& &&&&& &&&&&& | SHONEN KNIFE |
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| && && && &&&&& && &&&&& | I LOVE KOALA |
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|&& && && && && && && && | CHOCOLATE |
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|&&&&&& &&&&&& && &&&&&& && && | SAN FRANCISCO SEALS |
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| &&&& &&&& && &&&&&& && && | CHOCOLATE |
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| | VELOCITY GIRL |
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| &&&& &&&&&& && && &&&&& && &&&&& | CHEWING GUM |
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|&&&&&& &&&&&& && && &&&&&& && &&&&&& | ANTI-SOCIAL COMMENTARY |
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|&& && && && && && && && && && | JONNY COHEN INTERVIEW |
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| && && && && && && && && && | |
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| && && && && &&&&&& && && && | |
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| && && && && &&&&& && && && | |
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|&& && && && && && && && && | |
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|&&&&&& && &&&&&& && && &&&&&& | |
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| &&&& && &&&& && && &&&&& +------------------------+
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| |
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| &&&& && &&&& && && &&&&& &&&& &&&& && && +-----+
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|&&&&&& && &&&&&& &&& &&& &&&&&& &&&&&& &&&&&& && && | J 1 |
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|&& && && && && &&&&&&& && && && && && && && && | U 9 |
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| && && && && && & && && && && && && && && && | N 9 |
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| && && &&&&&& && & && &&&&& && && && && &&&& | E 4 |
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| && && && && && && && && && && && && && && | |
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|&& && && && && && && && && && && && && && && | |
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|&&&&&& &&&&&& && && && && &&&&&& &&&&&& &&&&&& && && | |
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| &&&& &&&&&& && && && && &&&&& &&&& &&&& && && | #3 |
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+---------------------------------------------------------+-----+
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| [ But I fear the Indians of Cleveland ] |
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+---------------------------------------------------------------+
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Hey there! Blah blahblah, hello. Blah, blah blah, blah hummus
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is a meal in itself. Blah blah!!! Yummy! Blah blah blah blah
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blah blah O.J. Simpson?!?! Blah! Saddest thing I ever heard.
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Blah blah blahblah blah blah blahblah blah blah blah, this
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east coast heatwave is a major pain! Blah blah blah blah blah
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blah blah, seen the Lion King? Blah heatwave blahblah blah
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blahblah blah, James Earl Jones? Blah--blah blahblah blah
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blah--blah blah blah blah blah blah. Art show, blah blah blah
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blahblah blah blah blah blah, Billy Dee Williams ain't that
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bad an artist. Blah "Well blah de blah," blah blah blahblah
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blah love blahblah? Yeah, right! Blah blah blah blahblah
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heatwave sucks blah blahblah blah blah, damn! Blah blah blah
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blahblah blah blah blahblah blah blah need sleep. Blah
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blahblah damn heatwave blahblah blahblah blah blah, bye for
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now!
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Blahblah later!
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Your over caffeinated e-zine buddy,
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/ \ /
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/____ ____\/___
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/ //____\\ \ \
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\___// \\____\ \
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+---------------------------------------------------------------+
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| [ E-MAIL ] [ STANDARD MAIL ] |
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| jis@panix.com P.O. Box 242 |
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| Village Station |
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| New York, NY 10014 |
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+---------------------------------------------------------------+
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TITLE: Even Cowgirls Get the Blues (MOVIE)
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ARTIST: Gus Van Sant
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PRICE: I paid $7.00 too much.
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I really, really, really wanted to like this flick but sadly, this
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thing is lame, lame, lame! Uma Thurman plays Sissy Hankshaw, a
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woman who is born with two incredibly huge thumbs; a blessing and
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a curse. They allow her to be the queen of hitchhikers. They look
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like two huge flesh colored cigar tubes. But even if the makeup was
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better, the film would still stink as bad as the N.Y.C. Subway on
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a warm summer day.
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First off, this film is in some serious need of cohesion. The
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story, in and of itself, is quirky and intriguing but the pacing of
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the film is way, way off (maybe that's related to the fact that
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poor ol' Gus had to edit and re-edit this thing a jillion times
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before the studio would release it). Second, someone should have
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called in the nepotism police when Rain Phoenix was cast in this
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thing as Bonanza Jellybean. She can't act her way out of a
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biodegradable paper bag. Thirdly--and lastly--great characters like
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Julian Gitchie (Keanu Reeves), Delores Del Ruby (Lorraine Bracco)
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and The Chink (Pat Morita) were never developed, expanded or
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explained. Ugh, uggh, UGGGH! Gus has done better work in both
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_Drugstore Cowboy_ and _My Own Private Idaho_. Rent them. Watch
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them. Love them.
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=================================================================
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TITLE: American Bar (CANDY)
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ARTIST: Fujiya
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Very rich and chocolatey stuff from those fine candy makers in
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Japan. A huge 6 inch long monster of a chocolate bar filled with
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nut chips and cookie crumbs. Yum! I almost forgot to mention the
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little air-bubbles in this thing which makes it literally melt in
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your mouth. Absolutely, dee-lish-uss! But here's a word of warning
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for all you candy loving people out there. Don't _ever_ do what I
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did and eat this thing at 4 in the morning when you can't get to
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sleep and you start to have some severe munchie-like urges.
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Although the taste _will_ make you feel good, believe me
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buddy, within minutes you _will_ feel nauseous as hell! Not mention
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the fact that sugar and theobromine (the stuff in chocolate that
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gives it that caffeine like kick, FYI) doesn't help _anyone_ with
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normal body chemistry get to sleep. So don't be a putz--like moi--
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and eat stuff like this in the middle of the night, okay?
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=================================================================
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TITLE: Absolute Beginners (ZINE)
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ARTIST: Absolute Beginners Club
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ADDRESS: Andrea Vaughn (P.O. Box 413, Saint James, NY 11780)
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PRICE: It goes for $2.00 post paid (USA) and $4.00 post paid
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(WORLD)
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It's 1994 and mods still exist. And out in the seemingly sterile,
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suburbia-like land of Long Island of all places. This zine is
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filled with mod manifestos, ramblings and related popish and
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punkish miscellany. It's totally great! While I don't totally agree
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with some of the politics and such that are espoused in this thing,
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there is enough balance between serious and light-hearted stuff in
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this zine to make it very readable and enjoyable.
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I loved the essay on the joys of doing origami (which includes
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diagrams of course). I liked the short interview with Michael G.--
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who along with Andrea Vaughn, founded the Absolute Beginners Club--
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since he echoes a lot of feelings I have about the art and music
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scene here in New York. And the piece on Andrea meeting
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Kerokerokeropi is really, really neat. I especially loved the part
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where the jaded author sums up her experience in the line "Sanrio
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should just stick to what they really do well--making stuff that's
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useless and fun. Kind of like life." So true. So, so true.
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=================================================================
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TITLE: Prince Polo (CANDY)
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ARTIST: Olza S.A.
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Poland based Olza self-describes this stuff as "crisp cocoa wafers
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with chocolate coating". Yeah, they are chocolate coated crisp
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cocoa wafers--very good tasting chocolate crisp cocoa wafers, if I
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do say so myself--but they forgot to mention the most important
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thing about their product. Prince Polo bars are cheaper than
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dirt!!! A box of 15 of these bars goes for about 4 bucks when you
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buy it from most any of the Russian vendors in Little Odessa (which
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is more commonly known as Brighton Beach, Brooklyn, N.Y., U.S.A.
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for those who don't know). That comes out to about 25 cents per bar
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folks; a damn tasty and thrifty deal. The only gripe I have stems
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from a little "note to customers" Olza encloses in each box of this
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stuff.
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For the most part, it's nice and cordial and thanks you for
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buying their product, but then they tell you that "under the
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influence of heat, chocolate may become grey, what does not
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influence its taste or nutritive value." Broken english aside,
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nobody is _ever_ going tell me that eating grey chocolate is a good
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thing. Grey chocolate? Bleagh! I'd rather eat that white chocolate
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stuff (which, to me, is not really white or really chocolatey at
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all). And "nutritive value"? What's up with that?!? Nobody I know
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consumes chocolate for it's "nutritive value". That is unless it
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has peanuts in it. Peanuts are a good source of protein, you know.
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=================================================================
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TITLE: Shonen Knife and Combo Congas (LIVE SHOW)
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ARTIST: Pretty obivious, I think.
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WHEN: June 5, 1994
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WHERE: Osaka, Japan
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[Review by Matt Kaufman]
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I saw Shonen Knife yesterday (June 5, 1994) and they were amazing.
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They did all the songs they used to do before they signed to Virgin
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such as _Bananafish_, _Fruit Loop Dreams_, _Public Bath_ etc. The
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only bad thing about the show is that since school is out in the
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United States a lot of yuppie types are coming to Japan to visit
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their friends and stuff. There were a couple of jerks who pushed
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their way up to the front without any consideration for others.
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Naoko talked about being on _Late Night with Conan O'Brien_
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with John Goodman, and either the streaker or the inside-out body
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guy came on but I couldn't hear because the two yuppies started
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yelling "Yay Conan" at the top of their lungs. But the show was
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still great and anyone who says they can hardly play their
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instruments has got to be insane. Oh, they also had a flea market
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in which they sold clothes and stuff.
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I got a leather jacket (Made in England) for my girlfriend for
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only 10 bucks! I bought a hooded sweatshirt thingy for 2 bucks and
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I got this Koala button that they picked up on tour in australia
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for a dime (See review below). The opening act was this power pop
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duo called _Combo Congas_ and they were incredible. Kind of like
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Shonen Knife's little brother band. For the encore both bands came
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out and did _Cycling is Fun_ and a cover of the 60s swinger,
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_Heatwave_.
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[ SETLIST (Shonen Knife): _Miracles_, _Banana Leaf_, _Summer Time
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Boogie_, _Elephant Pao Pao_, _Chocobars_, _Bananafish_, _I Am a
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Cat_, _Ice Cream City_, _Public Bath_, _Cherry Bomb_ (Runaways/Joan
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Jett cover) and _Lazybones_. ENCORE (w/Combo Congas): _Cycling is
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Fun_, _Fruit Loop Dreams_ and _Heatwave_. ]
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=================================================================
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TITLE: "I LOVE KOALA" Button (MISC)
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ARTIST: Someone
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This button would be your average run of the mill cute kiddie
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button, except for a few things. First, he is chewing some sort of
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funny looking flower in his little koala mouth. Second, the koala
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has this spacey, goofy, giddy smirk on his little koala face.
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Third, his little koala paw is buried in his little koala crotch.
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What the heck _is_ this koala doing? What type of flower _is_ he
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chewing on? This may be an _I LOVE KOALA_ button, but I personally
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think this koala is doing a pretty good job of loving him/herself.
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Yes-sir-eee.
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=================================================================
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TITLE: Nutty New Yorker (CANDY)
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ARTIST: New York's Finest Chocolate Company
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I've been seeing these chocolate bars in stores all over the place.
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But something instinctually kept me from trying this new junk food
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product. Yet eventually, in a desperate need for food, I caved in
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and bought one. Cookie chips, almonds and milk chocolate. Sounds
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good, huh? Normally that's not a bad combination, but man oh man,
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there is definitely something wrong here. Eating this thing was a
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big, nay, _humongous_ mistake. After eating this thing, I felt
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incredibly nauseous. I haven't felt this sick since I ate a screwed
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up hot dog back when I was eleven. I haven't puked since. This
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thing may break might break record. Uggh! I'm going to lie down
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now.
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=================================================================
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TITLE: Now Here (CD)
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ARTIST: The San Francisco Seals
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ADDRESS: Matador Records (676 Broadway, New York, NY 10012)
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PRICE: I paid $10.99
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Barbara Manning, driving force and co-producer of this thing, can
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do no wrong. This whole album is one great collection of guitary,
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folksy, jangly pop. This is the kind of stuff I kill for, and I
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love this thing to death! Swingin' original tracks like _Back
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Again_ and _Day 12_ mix in perfectly with cover tracks like _Baby
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Blue_ and _Janine's Dream_. Most of the audio non-sequiturs that
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pop up all over this album are fun and neat, with one exception.
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The alarm-like bells near the end of _Back Again_ really throw the
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song off-kilter; they are _way_ too distracting. But who cares
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about nit-picky stuff like that. As a whole, this is well worth
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listening to.
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=================================================================
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TITLE: Crunky Kids (CANDY)
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ARTIST: Lotte
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This Japanese candy gives _DEAN Chocolate Candy_ (See Slambook #1)
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a serious run for the money. Little bite-sized, pillow shaped dark
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chocolate squares filled with crispy rice. This stuff is damn good
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eating! Not too sweet. Not too bitter. And the crispy rice stuff is
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actually spread evenly throughout each little piece of chocolate.
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How _did_ they do that? And if that wasn't enough to convince you
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that this stuff kicks, check out the neat packaging.
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The chocolate comes in a little box with a drawer that slides
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out when you want a piece of chocolate and neatly slides back so
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you can save some for later (so you can save some for later and not
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be a pig, FYI). Works a lot more effectively than the little "fold
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in the flap" contraptions that are on most boxes of American
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chocolate. The fine people at Lotte put a lot of thought and care
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into this thing. Only wish the marketing team came up with a better
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name. _Crunky Kids_? Who would want to eat a Crunky Kid? What's
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next? Moody Bastards?
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=================================================================
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TITLE: Sorry Again (CD)
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ARTIST: Velocity Girl
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ADDRESS: Sub Pop (1932 First Avenue, Suite 1103, Seattle, WA 98101)
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E-MAIL: info@subpop.com
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PRICE: I paid $7.00.
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This maxi-single sounds okay... Well not really... But, I dunno...
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I mean geez, this isn't the _Velocity Girl_ that _I_ remember. But
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I guess I remembered them wrong? Or maybe they're reinventing
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themselves? Who knows. The title track--which comes off of their
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second full-length album _Simpatico!_--is really great guitar pop.
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I definitely could listen to more stuff like this. But the other
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tracks really fall flat and do nothing for me.
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_Marzipan_ is decent, but not to die for. _Diamond Jubilee_ is
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the only track on this maxi-single sung by Archie, and it doesn't
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really come off well on any level. _Labrador_ is just totally
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unbearable to my ears. The synthesizer stuff in it just reminds me
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too much of the riffs that you hear mainly on early 80s "new-wave"
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songs. Ugggh! Overall, the sound is too smooth and calculated for
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my taste. It didn't grab me in the same way that Velocity Girl's
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older material did. *sigh*
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Oh well, things change. That's life. Time to chew some gum.
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=================================================================
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TITLE: Black Black (CANDY)
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ARTIST: Lotte
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You haven't lived until you've tried _this_ stuff. It's been highly
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recommend to me by many sugar jockey friends of mine, but I'll be
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damned if I ever consider _Black Black_ to be "sugary" in any way.
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This is the weirdest candy I have _ever_ tasted. The flavor changes
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and mutates the longer you chew it.
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First, it tastes like licorice--really gritty, bitter and
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strong licorice. Then it gets minty--sharp and mouth stingingly
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minty. Then it gets mentholy--much more mentholy than even most
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throat lozenges get. If you keep on chewing it, before you know it,
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it tastes like your mouth has been swabbed down and scrubbed out
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with some kind of industrial strength cleanser. Bleagh! Although it
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tastes horrific, it does have a purpose. Its potent flavor can help
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clean out, wash away and destroy any unwanted odors or aftertastes
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in your mouth. Bad tasting _and_ useful.
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=================================================================
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TITLE: Anti-Social Commentary #1 (COMIC)
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ARTIST: Emily Ryan Lerner
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ADDRESS: Emily Ryan Lerner (P.O. Box 12, Old Chatham, NY 12136)
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PRICE: It goes for $.50 plus two first class stamps.
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This small collection of comics by Emily is extremely likeable. The
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artwork is very simple, doodly and scrawl-like. The stories are
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neat and well paced. _Conversion of the High Schoolers_ is an
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amusing commentary on religious "right wing old men in suits" who
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pass out bibles, and try to convert kids in and around school
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campuses. I almost died laughing at _An American Love Story_. It's
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the heartwarming the story of a crazy man named Bob who falls in
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love with a monster who is roaming the city in search of health
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food ("anything organically grown"). One of the best lines comes
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when the relationship between Bob and the monster goes sour, "Bob
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lived with the trees until Christmas season." Surreal _and_ funny.
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A neat combination.
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=================================================================
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TITLE: Jonny Cohen (PERSON)
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ARTIST: Jonny Cohen
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ADDRESS: TeenBeat (P.O. Box 3265, Arlington, VA 22203)
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Jonny Cohen is namesake, head honcho and driving force of TeenBeat
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rock sensation, _Jonny Cohen's Love Machine_. The Love Machine's
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sound can be called anything from rockish to punkish to popish to
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whatever. Although you can't pin a label on the Love Machine, Jonny
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himself is definitely creative, funny and has a weird sense of
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humor. This interview was done in May, 1994.
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[SLAM] Is there any basic rule you stick by as far as the whole
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creative thing goes? As far as keeping your focus goes?
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[J.C.] I find that not hearing too much about what the public
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thinks helps a lot.
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[SLAM] So it's better to concentrate on yourself.
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[J.C.] I find it better to just do your stuff. Not leave
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yourself vulnerable to what people say. I always want to
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hear what people have to say, but I find that it's better
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not to hear it.
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[SLAM] Does _Jonny Cohen's Love Machine_ do live gigs?
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[J.C.] We play in Washington, D.C. quite a bit.
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[SLAM] Is that with the lineup that's off of _Getting Our Heads
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Back Together_?
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[J.C.] No, it's changed a little bit since then. We have a new
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a drummer who was on _Getting Our Heads Back Together_
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but someone who played bass for _Getting Our Heads Back
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Together_ isn't in the band anymore. And we have someone
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who's playing guitar with the other guitar player. And
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the guy who played piano on _Getting Our Heads Back
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Together_ is playing bass, just because it was
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convenient. When you have friends and they want to do it-
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-and it seems like good there's chemistry--you shift a
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bit.
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[SLAM] How did you get started in the whole punk/indie-rock
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thing?
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[J.C.] It's really a thing where you could say I just did it
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because my friends did it. I just thought "Hey! I can do
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this." So I just thought that I could do it, and I
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guess I had a sense of fun about it.
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[SLAM] For me that's the neatest thing about it. It sounds like
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it's totally spontaneous.
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[J.C.] I kind of went nuts. I just thought it was really fun. In
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some ways I don't understand the where I come off, the
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way I come off. Like with _Time Loop_ (from the self-
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titled first album), all I was thinking in _Time Loop_
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was that it sounds circular. And I thought "Wow, that's
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really fun."
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[SLAM] So it's all spontaneous fun, as opposed to stiff,
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calculated expertise.
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[J.C.] Expertise can be an excuse for not showing yourself.
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[SLAM] Is your singing related to that? Since a lot of people's
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first reaction to your music is "Uggh, _he_ can't sing!"
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[J.C.] I really don't realize too well that I can't sing. So, I
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just think it's a good time and that I'm getting my words
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across and everything. I don't really recognize that I
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can't sing. That's part of the reason I'm able to do it.
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If I was really aware that people hated my singing I
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don't know if I could do it. What was I thinking was "I
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hope they get crazy and catch on to the circularness and
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run around in circles and just smash each other and stuff
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like that."
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[SLAM] Just get into the whole sound of it.
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[J.C.] The whole visual effect. I think it's psychedelic and
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it's the funness of it. I could just imagine everybody
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dancing in circles and hitting each other and having fun.
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[SLAM] Does that ever happen?
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[J.C.] No. That doesn't happen. (laughs)
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[SLAM] So what do people end up doing at live shows?
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[J.C.] That was a big disappointment to me; I think I was very
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naive. I thought that for each song people would start
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doing different things and stuff like that. It didn't
|
|
happen. Some things happen that make it hard. I don't
|
|
project as well as I would like to live, so people can't
|
|
hear the words a whole lot.
|
|
[SLAM] Does the audience just stand around and stare, or do they
|
|
mosh like idiots?
|
|
[J.C.] No, no. They just stand around. People who do mosh tend
|
|
to not be that interested; they do it as a joke and then
|
|
leave. And then I get excited because they do that--
|
|
because that's what I want these people to do--and then
|
|
it turns out that they're not interested. It's funny that
|
|
way.
|
|
[SLAM] Where do the shows happen?
|
|
[J.C.] We play at the _15 Minute Club_. We have a regular gig
|
|
there right now. We get occasional shows at other places,
|
|
but I like the _15 Minute Club_. We also played at the
|
|
_Simple Machines Working Holiday Three-Day Weekend_.
|
|
[SLAM] How did that go off?
|
|
[J.C.] I have a hard time getting a feel for live shows, but I
|
|
thought we had a real good show. The band we had at that
|
|
was very spontaneous. It's getting to be more of a
|
|
straight rock and roll thing than a gimmick thing. That's
|
|
just the way it's going. At first I had gimmick idea and
|
|
nobody responded to it.
|
|
[SLAM] Gimmick?
|
|
[J.C.] I came up with a gimmick for most of my stuff. _Time
|
|
Loop_ = People dancing around in circles. _Civil
|
|
Underminer Engineer_ = People putting on sunglasses and
|
|
acting cool. I kind of had a gimmick for every song. Now
|
|
I kind of went off that, and just started trying to make
|
|
interesting sounds and stuff and start to go in a rock
|
|
and roll direction. Another thing with the songs is that
|
|
I try to make them unique and interesting musically. I've
|
|
been going more in that direction, partly from people not
|
|
latching onto my gimmicks and partly as a kind of
|
|
confidence in my own musical ideas. I don't have a good
|
|
voice. I have good ideas. I'll stick to that.
|
|
[SLAM] What drives you? Where do the ideas comes from?
|
|
[J.C.] Being half crazy and wanting to express myself. And
|
|
actually, I don't know where my ideas really came from.
|
|
I liked pop music as a kid, but I don't see it too much
|
|
in the stuff I do. I do see it partially. You know the
|
|
songs in 70s like _How Do You Do_ and stuff like that.
|
|
Where the melody would convey certain emotions. It was
|
|
very based on the melody. And the melody would have a
|
|
goofy sound. And I think I was thinking I wanted to do
|
|
that, and kind of have it with more of an edge. More
|
|
exciting. Less restrained. More all out. So in a way it's
|
|
like putting an edge on commercial pop from the 70s which
|
|
I like, but I wish they would have gotten more creative.
|
|
[SLAM] So you'd call your sound more of a punk/pop sound?
|
|
[J.C.] You can call it punk _Captain and Tenelle_. That kind of
|
|
is what I was thinking. People with good ideas but they
|
|
were too restrained. I do think the visual side of
|
|
melodies can really be fun. I like hearing a song and
|
|
getting pictures in my head from the melody and from
|
|
everything, actually. I think I have more of a problem
|
|
just feeling the motions of the beat and everything. I
|
|
kind of see music like seeing images in my head more than
|
|
feeling it.
|
|
[SLAM] So there's a whole visual aspect to your stuff. Anything
|
|
else?
|
|
[J.C.] Another big thing about it is that I've gone through my
|
|
whole life feeling like everything I do is mediocre and
|
|
nothing I do is worthwhile. And you just think that and
|
|
you say "Screw that." You know, what am I going to do?
|
|
Just live my life and have everybody tell me that I am a
|
|
mediocre person, or am I going to try something and say
|
|
"To hell with it." I think a lot of people get
|
|
discouraged in general because they are taught none of
|
|
their ideas are very good.
|
|
[SLAM] So it's better to just say "Fuck it" and do it.
|
|
[J.C.] It seems to me that's almost what you have to do to do it
|
|
at all. You have develop that attitude. That's certainly
|
|
what I had to do.
|
|
[SLAM] What input does the band have in things?
|
|
[J.C.] The guitarist Pete (Nelson) has done all my records and
|
|
he's really great and me and him a great rapport. His
|
|
feelings and my feelings mesh really well. He definitely
|
|
plays the songs as an individual; he has his own style
|
|
and everything. But that's good, I think that in art you
|
|
have to compromise and not compromise.
|
|
[SLAM] Balance things out.
|
|
[J.C.] We have struck a balance. It seems like he really makes
|
|
my stuff go. He's been very vital. These days we have
|
|
another guitarist working with him.
|
|
[SLAM] Are there plans to put out any new material?
|
|
[J.C.] We have some ideas, but I did kind of start off with a
|
|
bang where I just went crazy and then I cooled off.
|
|
That's just the way I am. When I have an idea sometimes
|
|
I just go crazy with it and then I sort of start to think
|
|
and then things slow down. Something will happen and then
|
|
I'll think about it and I'll ease off quite a bit.
|
|
[SLAM] Eternal procrastination?
|
|
[J.C.] At first I'm just real excited about something and just
|
|
go crazy. And then I'll start to think a little and some
|
|
of the edge goes out of it.
|
|
[SLAM] The _Space Butterfly_ material sounded a lot different
|
|
from all your other stuff.
|
|
[J.C.] That was more of an arty thing. I actually wanted to just
|
|
put out _Getting Our Heads Back Together_ next, but
|
|
things went slow and I had to keep things going and I got
|
|
together another talented musician (Ward Shortridge) with
|
|
Pete again and Ward's brother (Matt Shortridge) who plays
|
|
fiddle. I started working with another friend whose thing
|
|
is folk music and he does it very well, and it's much
|
|
different than rock music. So it gives it a real
|
|
different feel and that's definitely a good thing about
|
|
my songs is that they're very adaptable. I mean I
|
|
originally wrote the songs with the idea that if I didn't
|
|
get any help, I'd sing them by myself. So when that
|
|
happens, the instruments tend to just be gravy. Because
|
|
if you can just sing a melody and it has the feeling of
|
|
the song in itself, I think that all the musician has to
|
|
do is play the song with the feeling. And that's it.
|
|
[SLAM] So it flows because it's simplicity.
|
|
[J.C.] Just as long as the musician feels it. I think actually
|
|
on different cuts and stuff you can hear the musicians
|
|
feel it more or less in the different ways that they're
|
|
done.
|
|
[SLAM] _I'm Not an Anorexic_ (from the _Space Butterfly_ 7" EP)
|
|
was really weird in a good way.
|
|
[J.C.] _I'm Not an Anorexic_ I wanted to do as a rock song. But
|
|
I don't know, it doesn't sound as good as a rock song.
|
|
[SLAM] It's a real scary sounding thing.
|
|
[J.C.] Mark (Robinson) helped to produce that song and the scary
|
|
idea was partly his and I'm scared of that stuff because
|
|
I like the songs to be straightforward and not confusing.
|
|
And that song is confusing.
|
|
[SLAM] What was the concept behind that one?
|
|
[J.C.] The idea is to have this punk rock song about anorexics.
|
|
The idea was to play it like a rock song and have these
|
|
anorexic girls dancing around hitting each other. I
|
|
always have ideas of people smashing each other.
|
|
[SLAM] Man oh man, what a visual you just gave me!
|
|
[J.C.] That was the idea. Having an anorexic rock band playing
|
|
_I'm Not an Anorexic_ and all these skinny girls hitting
|
|
each other and stuff.
|
|
[SLAM] That's really surreal.
|
|
[J.C.] Mine is a happy anorexic song that I think that a real
|
|
anorexic band would play. But it's a fantasy. I'm just an
|
|
optimist you know.
|
|
[SLAM] Any else you want to say?
|
|
[J.C.] One thing. With art and performance. It's just tricky.
|
|
You don't want to give too much of yourself away. There's
|
|
got to be a balance or it can drive you crazy. It'll ruin
|
|
the whole thing.
|
|
|
|
+---------------------------------------------------------------+
|
|
| This was SUPER STUPID SLAMBOOK #3 (JUNE 1994) |
|
|
| All contents (c) 1994 Jack Szwergold, all rights reserved. |
|
|
| And after saying all that, I realize that this is an elec- |
|
|
| tronic zine, which by the nature of it's medium, allows it to |
|
|
| be duplicated with little or no effort. So this is to let |
|
|
| you know that distribution is free. You can copy and send it |
|
|
| to as many people and places as you want. But the content is |
|
|
| mine, and plagiarism is just not a nice thing. Which is the |
|
|
| only reason why I stuck a copyright statement on this thing. |
|
|
| So be nice, and don't claim authorship to things you didn't |
|
|
| write. Okay? |
|
|
+---------------------------------------------------------------+
|
|
| [ WHERE TO FIND THE SLAMBOOK ] |
|
|
| |
|
|
| USENET: Each issue of the Slambook is posted to _alt.zines_, |
|
|
| _alt.etext_, _alt.comics.alternative_ and _alt.music. |
|
|
| alternative_ as well as various other sundry news- |
|
|
| groups on the USENET. |
|
|
| GOPHER: gopher.well.sf.ca.us (Thanks to Jerod at Factsheet 5) |
|
|
| E-MAIL: For all you lazy types who don't like slumming on the |
|
|
| USENET or playing around with gophers, you can get an |
|
|
| e-mail subscription to the Slambook. Drop me a note |
|
|
| telling me you'd like to subscribe and you'll be |
|
|
| added to the Slambook's ultra-hip electronic-mail |
|
|
| distribution list. (NOTE: I'm not a LISTSERV, and I |
|
|
| don't play one on TV. So please don't send me any |
|
|
| cryptic LISTSERVish messages, okay?) |
|
|
+---------------------------------------------------------------+
|
|
| [ GRAFT, GOODIES AND GENEROSITY ] |
|
|
| |
|
|
| You all like stuff! I all like stuff! We all like stuff! |
|
|
| But please be sure to remember that any and all materials |
|
|
| sent to the Super Stupid Slambook offices will not be |
|
|
| returned unless accompanied by a self-addressed stamped |
|
|
| envelope. There is also no guarantee that what you send will |
|
|
| be reviewed. That's life. |
|
|
+---------------------------------------------------------------+
|
|
| [ ASK ME ABOUT MY MINI-COMICS ] |
|
|
| |
|
|
| If you haven't even read or seen any of my minis, send me |
|
|
| some e-mail and I'll zap you some info on them. They're more |
|
|
| fun and entertaining than Maynard G. Krebbs and Jack Palance |
|
|
| smoking catnip. |
|
|
+---------------------------------------------------------------+
|
|
| [ E-MAIL ] [ STANDARD MAIL ] |
|
|
| jis@panix.com P.O. Box 242 |
|
|
| Village Station |
|
|
| New York, NY 10014 |
|
|
+---------------------------------------------------------------+
|
|
|
|
|